Obviously i’m running late today…it’s been quite the busy morning/afternoon and i just woke up from a nap. Yes, you read that correctly…i took a nap. Fun Fact: whenever i take long naps (anything over 30 minutes) i wake up nauseous. Weird right? Does anyone else have that issue? Anywho. Day Seven: Recommend a book for us to read. Why is it important/special to you?. . .Hmmm there are so many books that i love and that i have discovered recently, “Radical” by David Platt, “Inescapable” by Amy Bartol, “Nevermore” by Kelley Creagh…but i wanted to share this book with you. Starving Jesus: Off the pew, into the world.By: Craig Gross | J.R. Mahon
found here.. . .This book radically challenged me. It kicked me in the face, punched out my teeth, and made me really sit down and evaluate where i was in relation with God and the church. I read this book when i was in college, i think my junior or senior year and it has stuck with me ever since. It is a hard read, one that took me a solid 6 months to read the first time. It says some things that really challenges your heart, in a good way, and makes you dig deeper into your life and relationship with God. I’m definitely going to be reading it again soon, and i think anyone who is a Christian should give it a read. I thought i would share some quotes from the book to give you a better understanding of what it is about. . . .“As a church, we have become Born Again Lazy. Lazy with outreach, lazy with money, lazy with our families, lazy with prayer, lazy with fasting, lazy with studying God’s Word, lazy with Him. Lazy with the lost. It may be sin we don’t see, or it may be a glaring defect that stops us from exercising our faith. Either way, we are creating Christians whose main desire is to please themselves.”.“One bit thing to realize about people is that we all have that common desire to fill the hole that sin has created in our lives. We are all walking towards God, and along the way we must deal with sin. In all cases, the truth in people’s lives will be offensive. Dealing with issues of pride, addiction, (name your sin here) will be a hard pill to swallow. We are flawed from the very start.” .“We are always blaming God for not being communicative; the truth is, we are the usual suspects in this scenario. We stop the flow of information between the Father and us. HE is constantly asking us questions about our lives through the Holy Spirit. HE is always calling, but we rarely pick up” . “Find that person you can’t love and make the effort. Find that spot that stretches you so much it hurts and go for it. Step over your comfort and experience someone else’s immediate need .Tell them it’s going to be okay because you get it. Because you just want to love them. I don’t know what that looks like for you. Maybe it’s a “hello” at the store, maybe it’s taking in a family who needs a place to stay. Or maybe it’s your simple acknowledgment that God is all you need.” . . .So take a minute, read into the book and see if it’s something you’d like to get your hands on.
starving jesus from Difted on Vimeo.
. . .
What about you?
What books are you challenging others to read?
Spill.
These are such awesome suggestions. I think it is so important to think beyond ourselves and outside ourselves communally. I love the quotes and your blog design!